How Long before you realised that Australia was or was not the place that you wanted to spend the rest of your days ?

[scousers]

Sounds funny hearing them and us and i never would have thought of it that way until i found it just happening that way.  A good example is hubby’s best mate in oz, they have been best mates for 30 years now would not meet his best mate from childhood when he came out to oz, he was here for 4 weeks and the aussie mate made every excuse under the sun to not see us for those four weeks, really weird. Even his uk mate as he was leaving said its weird we never got to meet, we had no answer to that, they live about four streets away. As soon ss he left things went back to normal?

Football isnt in all families from Liverpool, some of ours follow but i would say only 50% though. Never followed it here or there, no interest.

[Bulya]

23 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

All the people I know who have been to Melbourne tell me they prefer Melbourne to Sydney! I never intended to live in Sydney either; it just "happened" or rather I got my first job here after failing in my preferred destination  - Perth. And now Sydney is just "home", although I'm tempted to make Surfers Paradise home once Anna stops treating Sydney as The Walking Dead.

You couldn’t pay me to live in Melbourne again.  Sydney preferable and so different.   

[ramot]

35 minutes ago, scousers said:

Sounds funny hearing them and us and i never would have thought of it that way until i found it just happening that way.  A good example is hubby’s best mate in oz, they have been best mates for 30 years now would not meet his best mate from childhood when he came out to oz, he was here for 4 weeks and the aussie mate made every excuse under the sun to not see us for those four weeks, really weird. Even his uk mate as he was leaving said its weird we never got to meet, we had no answer to that, they live about four streets away. As soon ss he left things went back to normal?

Football isnt in all families from Liverpool, some of ours follow but i would say only 50% though. Never followed it here or there, no interest.

I realise that you are apparently deeply unhappy here, but that is not everyone’s experience. I have had to make do and cope endlessly since I got married, gave up counting after moving 17 times, but I have always managed to make friends, perhaps not best friends as In lifelong friends, as I wasn’t anywhere long enough, even as a child I had moved constantly,  but I made enduring friendships, some of which have lasted over 50 years. Since we moved to to Australia 18 years ago when retired, I have definitely made good friends, we don’t share backgrounds, but we share our new lives together, and are supportive of each other, 

I’m sorry your friends have let you down, it’s not a nice experience, I sort of understand in a different way, as with every move, I’ve had to take a deep breath and find the strength to start over yet again, it’s very hard, I could have easily said I can’t do this again! but I knew somehow I had to, or I would go under. I hope you find the strength to make and trust new friends.

xM

Edited August 26, 2021 by ramot

[Marisawright]

45 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

All the people I know who have been to Melbourne tell me they prefer Melbourne to Sydney!

It's funny, isn't it.  We ended up in Melbourne accidentally, and I've been surprised how much I like it.  

Sydney is very beautiful to look at, at least in the coastal suburbs and the city.  Melbourne is boring and grey by comparison, unless you love walking around looking at architecture (which I do). So I do miss all those lovely vistas over the harbour.  But I think you'd find normal day-to-day living in inner suburban Melbourne very similar to your normal day-to-day lifestyle in inner Sydney.   At my age, I find Melbourne more practical because it's all so flat and easy to walk around, and the public transport is better than Sydney.

[bug family]

5 hours ago, Rallyman said:

Which area of N wales Bug F ? 

Hi rallyman.... prestatyn do you know this area ? Beautiful little town, has a charming Victorian high street with a hillside at the top with views down the coast and numerous pubs and restaurants and the beach at the other end, having lived and visited many places around the world this little town had topped them all

[Rallyman]

4 minutes ago, bug family said:

Hi rallyman.... prestatyn do you know this area ? Beautiful little town, has a charming Victorian high street with a hillside at the top with views down the coast and numerous pubs and restaurants and the beach at the other end, having lived and visited many places around the world this little town had topped them all

Yes I know that area , I lived in Buckley 

[bug family]

18 hours ago, Rallyman said:

Yes I know that area , I lived in Buckley 

Yes i know Buckley to, not far from Wrexham and Mold, its funny really because it is so true when people say that you have to live somewhere else to appreciate where you live and now I have done that I can truly say that I prefer back home in the UK

[Rallyman]

4 minutes ago, bug family said:

Yes i know Buckley to, not far from Wrexham and Mold, its funny really because it is so true when people say that you have to live somewhere else to appreciate where you live and now I have done that I can truly say that I prefer back home in the UK

I have mixed feelings, we went back 3 years ago and was shocked at the state of the town just charity shops and hairdressers. 
Not being able to travel when we want is having an effect on us as if we ever wanted to catch up we could book a flight and go. 

[bug family]

1 minute ago, Rallyman said:

I have mixed feelings, we went back 3 years ago and was shocked at the state of the town just charity shops and hairdressers. 
Not being able to travel when we want is having an effect on us as if we ever wanted to catch up we could book a flight and go. 

yes its very hard especially at the moment, I personally think it is wrong that as a British citizen I have to apply for exemption to LEAVE the country, even if I plan to not come back!

Its a shame your town was not what you expected when you went back, some places have done well others not so much, Prestatyn town was booming when I was there a couple of years ago, in fact North Wales as been voted one of the best regions to holiday in the UK

[Rallyman]

1 minute ago, bug family said:

yes its very hard especially at the moment, I personally think it is wrong that as a British citizen I have to apply for exemption to LEAVE the country, even if I plan to not come back!

Its a shame your town was not what you expected when you went back, some places have done well others not so much, Prestatyn town was booming when I was there a couple of years ago, in fact North Wales as been voted one of the best regions to holiday in the UK

North wales will always be home to me even though I live in Australia. 

[steveshe]

Absolutely love it here . Been here 21 years and never ever regretted it for one moment . I have no intentions of going back to UK . Here is home not the UK . The only thing i find tiresome is all the Poms moaning about being here in Australia due to covid . But they are quite happy to get petitions up to start letting everyone in putting a lot of stress on our health system . I agree 100% with all whats happening here . Im in Perth and its the best place in the world , where i am happiest . 

[tea4too]

On 31/07/2021 at 07:55, bug family said:

I may have some exciting yet sad news (lol my life is definitely sweet & sour) to post on here very soon, don't want to jinx myself but watch this space..........

...... still wondering what your news might be BF, and watching this space while keeping everything crossed for you. Tx

[bug family]

3 hours ago, steveshe said:

Absolutely love it here . Been here 21 years and never ever regretted it for one moment . I have no intentions of going back to UK . Here is home not the UK . The only thing i find tiresome is all the Poms moaning about being here in Australia due to covid . But they are quite happy to get petitions up to start letting everyone in putting a lot of stress on our health system . I agree 100% with all whats happening here . Im in Perth and its the best place in the world , where i am happiest . 

I am glad you are happy here but not everyone feels that way, I miss home always have and always will, we are all different steveshe I respect that, as for a petition I have no idea on this not heard about it, oh and as for moaning poms ....everyone moans about something or other including you moaning about moaning poms Australia is at a crossroads at the moment, it has done well to keep covid at bay up till now but on the other hand has a very low vaccination rate, meaning if and when covid does make a significant impact which is starting to look likely over east it could be a very different story here....time will tell ..anyhow I hopefully will be going home in the not to distant future

[bug family]

1 hour ago, tea4too said:

...... still wondering what your news might be BF, and watching this space while keeping everything crossed for you. Tx

Thanks tea4too I am nearly there just a bit longer x

[Bulya]

12 hours ago, bug family said:

Thanks tea4too I am nearly there just a bit longer x

Why didn’t you leave Perth?  

[MARYROSE02]

On 26/08/2021 at 21:40, Marisawright said:

It's funny, isn't it.  We ended up in Melbourne accidentally, and I've been surprised how much I like it.  

Sydney is very beautiful to look at, at least in the coastal suburbs and the city.  Melbourne is boring and grey by comparison, unless you love walking around looking at architecture (which I do). So I do miss all those lovely vistas over the harbour.  But I think you'd find normal day-to-day living in inner suburban Melbourne very similar to your normal day-to-day lifestyle in inner Sydney.   At my age, I find Melbourne more practical because it's all so flat and easy to walk around, and the public transport is better than Sydney.

I've got a feeling that back in early 1980, with an extra six months on my WHV, and having spent over a year in Sydney I was thinking of moving to Melbourne. But then the Aussie govt announced an amnesty for illegal immigrants which included people like me who were here legally and could take advantage of that amnesty to claim permanent residence so I stayed in Sydney with my brothers   one of whom got PR the same way I did whilst the other got sponsored by his employer. 

I probably would have liked Melbourne especially after getting into AFL. One of my brothers had a work contract there for a few months and he liked it though he would not have liked the winters.  He hated Sydney winters. 

At the back of my mind I'm still wondering about going back to the Gold Coast where my brother is. God knows when we might be let back in? Lockdown in Sydney till end of October at least then the other premiers have to agree to open their borders regardless of how far NSW goes with its vax. "Our Glad" is talking about 70 percent,  maybe 80. 

I've put my house up for sale in England! It feels like I'm selling my Mum and Dad. They are buried in the village churchyard (where the clock is always stopped at a quarter to three!). I'm never going back to England though even if we are allowed to go and then allowed to come back. 

[MARYROSE02]

On 26/08/2021 at 21:13, Bulya said:

You couldn’t pay me to live in Melbourne again.  Sydney preferable and so different.   

I never really went there, two nights in Mont Albert to spend time in company hq - Data General in Box Hill. I did a road trip and went thru Melbourne, had a coffee in Eltham which I liked.  And I drove to Melbourne with my brother one weekend and back overnighter in Seymour. That's it. 

Like my other brother on the Goldie I don't like the winters here even in Sydney so Melbourne would be worse but had I gone there too live I'd probably still be there.

I came to OZ intending to live in Perth but ended up in Sydney because I couldn't get a job in Perth and and wanted to see the Opera House, Bridge and Bondi before I went home.

Last year I went to Surfers for a holiday and stayed for 8 months because I liked it.

 

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

 

I've put my house up for sale in England! It feels like I'm selling my Mum and Dad. They are buried in the village churchyard (where the clock is always stopped at a quarter to three!). I'm never going back to England though even if we are allowed to go and then allowed to come back. 

Well done you.  Of course you're not selling your Mum and Dad.  A house is just a house in the end.  Your memories are what matters.

[Tulip1]

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Well done you.  Of course you're not selling your Mum and Dad.  A house is just a house in the end.  Your memories are what matters.

Very true.  I completed on my mums house last week.  It was a strange and sad day as it was once our happy family home.  You’re right though, without my parents in it, it’s just a house.  It’s the memories I will cherish, not an empty house.  

[Marisawright]

16 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

Very true.  I completed on my mums house last week.  It was a strange and sad day as it was once our happy family home.  You’re right though, without my parents in it, it’s just a house.  It’s the memories I will cherish, not an empty house.  

I guess I'm fortunate that I don't equate things with people.   It's interesting to watch my husband with his possessions - he can pick one up and tell me where he was when he bought it, and what was going on in his life.  Whereas I don't do that at all. Photos or letters of loved ones, yes, but not material things like clothes or furniture or ornaments.  

When my Dad died, I spent some time in the UK with my sister, who was living in the family home.   She couldn't bring herself to go through Dad's stuff, so I did it.  Of course I shed a tear or two thinking about my Dad, but to me, it was just things.

Edited August 30, 2021 by Marisawright

[newjez]

22 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I guess I'm fortunate that I don't equate things with people.   It's interesting to watch my husband with his possessions - he can pick one up and tell me where he was when he bought it, and what was going on in his life.  Whereas I don't do that at all. Photos or letters of loved ones, yes, but not material things like clothes or furniture or ornaments.  

When my Dad died, I spent some time in the UK with my sister, who was living in the family home.   She couldn't bring herself to go through Dad's stuff, so I did it.  Of course I shed a tear or two thinking about my Dad, but to me, it was just things.

I still have the t shirt I was wearing when I met my wife twenty five years ago. I still wear it. I treasure it. I remind her of our first date every time I wear it 

It was the one I bought after I white water rafted the Zambezi.

She hates it.

She said she hated it the day she met me, and that because of it I nearly didn't get a second date. But she figured she could always take me shopping.

Some items you do hold dear.

[Toots]

51 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I guess I'm fortunate that I don't equate things with people.   It's interesting to watch my husband with his possessions - he can pick one up and tell me where he was when he bought it, and what was going on in his life.  Whereas I don't do that at all. Photos or letters of loved ones, yes, but not material things like clothes or furniture or ornaments.  

When my Dad died, I spent some time in the UK with my sister, who was living in the family home.   She couldn't bring herself to go through Dad's stuff, so I did it.  Of course I shed a tear or two thinking about my Dad, but to me, it was just things.

There was a display of old local photos in Devonport Library a couple of years ago.  One of the displays was an old photo album - obviously of someone's family and friends.  One of the librarians told me it had been recently found at the local dump.  I was looking through it and thought how very sad it was that someone had died and whoever was sorting out the house just chucked out the album.  I had a lump in my throat just thinking that nobody must have cared enough or had any interest in the album's owner to keep it.  It looked like it was full of happy memories. 

[ramot]

I’m off with the old and on with the new.The reason probably is because I have never lived anywhere very long and that includes childhood, so I have no allegiance to anywhere. I have lived in this house on the Sunshine Coast for 18 years, that is the longest I have ever lived in a house ever. The two other longest were 12 years in SW London where I went to senior school, and could count 10 years in Brunei, but we did move house there, but it Bandar wasn’t very large. 

I never want to leave this house, I love it here, finally found a home.

[Lavers]

1 hour ago, newjez said:

I still have the t shirt I was wearing when I met my wife twenty five years ago. I still wear it. I treasure it. I remind her of our first date every time I wear it 

It was the one I bought after I white water rafted the Zambezi.

She hates it.

She said she hated it the day she met me, and that because of it I nearly didn't get a second date. But she figured she could always take me shopping.

Some items you do hold dear.

Good job on you that it still fits you

[newjez]

9 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I never really went there, two nights in Mont Albert to spend time in company hq - Data General in Box Hill. I did a road trip and went thru Melbourne, had a coffee in Eltham which I liked.  And I drove to Melbourne with my brother one weekend and back overnighter in Seymour. That's it. 

Like my other brother on the Goldie I don't like the winters here even in Sydney so Melbourne would be worse but had I gone there too live I'd probably still be there.

I came to OZ intending to live in Perth but ended up in Sydney because I couldn't get a job in Perth and and wanted to see the Opera House, Bridge and Bondi before I went home.

Last year I went to Surfers for a holiday and stayed for 8 months because I liked it.

 

My parents left Melbourne for Sydney after their first Melbourne winter. They said they didn't see the point of moving halfway around the world to live in a place that was as cold and miserable as the UK. I was only three at the time. All I remember was the Nissan huts, and then this god awful high rise block of flats we lived in. Although for me it was paradise as all the urchins used to have the run of the place.

I went back to Melbourne about twenty five years ago for a visit. It was ok I guess. I liked st Kilda. The theme tune for the Sullivan's kept going around my head.